


get away (that is all I can do)

by MiaBrown



Series: what are you after? some kind of disaster? [4]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Never Went to Public School, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Angst, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Betrayal, Character Death, Drinking, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Redemption, Happy Ending, Honeypot, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lovers To Enemies, Making Out, Sad Ending, Songfic, Swearing, There was only one bed!, Thief AU, Unhealthy Relationships, spy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:16:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28555992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiaBrown/pseuds/MiaBrown
Summary: The Order needed that jewel. And Marinette would never disappoint the Order. Even if it meant, she had to do things, she wasn't particularly keen on. Because even if she had to pretend, she knew it wouldn't last forever.However, she didn't calculate with one thing. Falling in love on the mission; no less with her client's son, Adrien Agreste.---This is an Adrienette spy/thief AU with Gabriel as a plot device, don't let anyone suggest otherwise.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: what are you after? some kind of disaster? [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056431
Comments: 24
Kudos: 56





	1. The Happy Start

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SilverMoonSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/gifts), [sae_what](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sae_what/gifts).



> Many thanks to my partner in crime, [Khanofallorcs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs/pseuds/Khanofallorcs) for beta reading this.
> 
> For once, I actually have the whole thing written up, so expect weekly updates.
> 
>  _“There are no happy endings. Endings are the saddest part, so just give me a happy middle and a very happy start.”_ ― Shel Silverstein

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: implied domestic violence, making out

[ _No, nothing good starts in a getaway car._ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPLQVlUiNQ)

“Do you think he’s going to like me?” Marinette asked with fake concern in her voice.

She couldn’t care less what the spoiled, sheltered heir of _Gabriel_ thought about her. She wasn’t here to make friends. 

“He would be an idiot not to,” Gabriel himself, who sat beside her in the driver seat of the Mark II Jaguar, said. 

“But won’t he think that this- that _we_ are unusual? I’m not keen on being accused of being a gold-digger on the spot,” Marinette said, scrunching her nose as if even the idea would disgust her. 

Gabriel placed his palm on her thigh and sent a weak smile her way. “Don’t worry your pretty head about that, Darling. He knows that I’m not that easy to trick.”

“Good.” She smiled at him confidently to hide her annoyance. “Looks up to his _pére,_ as he should.”

“It’s all just a matter of nurture. Ever since he grew out of his rebellious period — listening to some god awful metal singer, Jagged Stone — he has been very obedient.”

“That’s good to hear!” Marinette smiled understandingly, never mentioning her personal preference for Jagged. It wasn’t in line neither with her image nor her goals. 

As the car rolled through an open gate and stopped in front of a monumental marble staircase, Marinette felt her stomach make an excited somersault. She was here, finally here!

The door opened and Marinette confidently stepped out of the car, careful not to fall on her face in the misfortunate meeting of high heels and cobblestones. She smoothed out the invisible wrinkles on her carefully tailored blue pencil skirt before she raised her head and met the most dazzling forest green eyes she had ever had the chance to encounter. 

The young man to whom the eyes belonged to stood tall, crossing his arms in front of his white shirt and looked her over with astonishment on his face. 

_Damn, I didn’t know he’s so hot,_ was Marinette’s first thought, followed by some more private-natured ones in quick succession. 

“Father, you never told me your girlfriend was this… young,” he said, clearly picking his words carefully. 

“You can just call me Nette, Adrien! And you know, age is a mere number. There are much, much more important things in love,” she said with a reserved smile, extending her hand to shake his. He took it tentatively. “It’s nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Adrien!”

Adrien merely smiled at her with pursed lips, his smile never reaching his eyes. 

_It was the best of times, the worst of crimes,_

_I struck a match and blew your mind._

“I can’t believe they still don’t have the electricity shortages under control! I’m calling the service right now!” Gabriel stormed out of the office at least for the third time that week that Marinette remembered, leaving her and Adrien alone in complete darkness and silence. 

“I know I saw some candles somewhere here. I hope they weren’t just decorations,” Marinette said, trying to feel out the objects in front of her on the coffee table in the dark. Her hand wrapped around something warm and two similar hitching breaths could be heard at the same time. 

“There you go,” Adrien said, clearing his throat and clumsily handing her the candle as soon as Marinette let go of his hand. 

She was more than lucky that he couldn’t see the uncontrollably spreading blush on her face. It was ridiculous. _She_ was ridiculous. She needed more than luck; she had to demonstrate skill and cunning to get her way. Under no circumstance could she allow an incredibly handsome distraction to prevent her from reaching her goal. 

“Thanks,” she mumbled and took out a match from her purse by her feet. 

Striking it broke the nightly darkness in the room and Marinette saw as Adrien leaned forward, looking at her in interest. She lit the candle and placed it on the table between the two of them.

“Why do you have a match in your purse?”

“To lighten up the mood,” she winked. 

She really shouldn’t have winked. 

_But I didn't mean it,_

“I’m sorry, Father is still at work,” Adrien said with the main entrance’s doorknob in his hand.

“Oh no, I was certain he’d be already home,” Marinette pouted. That was, of course, a lie. She had had Gabriel’s schedule memorized long before she even met him. “Anyway, can I come in while I wait for him?” 

“S-sure. I mean, of course, come on in!” Adrien stepped aside to let her in, scratching the nape of his neck nervously. He looked cute when he did that. 

“I don’t want to be a bother, so I’ll just wait here in the office, if that’s okay,” Marinette said politely, pointing at the room that was usually occupied. 

“I don’t know if you’re supposed to go there,” Adrien said, clearly awkwardly. “But you aren’t a bother anyway! I was playing Ultimate Mecha Strike V but I just stopped it, so it’s alright.” Seeing the surprised expression on Marinette’s face, he blushed and hurriedly went on. “Oh, sorry, I should have known that you don’t know it, it’s a video game, but it isn’t imp-”

“I love Ultimate Mecha Strike!” Marinette blurted out. She couldn’t remember the last time she got to play that game. Or when was the last time she got to play anything that wasn’t people, for that matter. 

“You do? Awesome! Do you want to play, then?” Adrien perked up immediately. 

“I- I shouldn’t, I was just supposed to meet him,” Marinette said hesitantly, casting a glance at the office’s closed door.

“Please, Nette! I can rarely play with anyone and the single player mode is only so much fun,” Adrien pleaded, before adding on a low voice. “We will be careful, he doesn’t have to know!”

When he offered exactly what Marinette yearned for, and additionally, he looked at her the way he did, how was she supposed to say no?

“Okay, okay, I’ll play,” she gave in, following Adrien, who practically leaped into his room. 

Was it so bad if she did what she really wanted only just this time? 

Work could wait a little longer.

_And you didn't see it._

"Can I look already?"

"Be patient, just a few more steps!" Marinette giggled, leading the blindfolded Adrien through the hall carefully. She opened the door and led him out to the monumental marble stairs before declaring cheerfully. "You can look now!"

Adrien pulled off the blindfold and just stared at the hot air balloon in the mansion's front yard with his mouth hanging open. "Happy 22nd Birthday, Adrien!" 

"I was… I was expecting a pen, or maybe a scarf if Father was in a good mood, but this… Whoa, Nette, how did you pull this off?!" 

"You talk so much about travelling, I don't think he could have missed that. We came up with the idea together," she lied with a gentle smile. 

"If you say so," Adrien rolled his eyes but the expression of genuine happiness was quickly back on his face. "So, can we go up and look around now?" 

“Of course, all they are waiting for is us and we’re off to the aquarium by balloon!”

"The aquarium? I thought that it was only a quick ride but you- And I-” Adrien was visibly at the loss of words, so much so that the next moment he enveloped her in a hug and mumbled into her hair like that. "Thank you! This is the best birthday I've ever had." 

"Don't mention it!" Marinette laughed, patting his shoulder as he let her go.

When Adrien grabbed her by her hand and started for the balloon, Marinette's smile faltered and she fixed her turtleneck sweater to securely cover her bruises. 

_The ties were black, the lies were white._

_In shades of grey and candlelight._

_I wanted to leave him._

_I needed a reason._

"But- I don't understand! I thought you loved him!" Adrien stormed, throwing his arms up in the air. “I mean, you had to have a reason for putting up with him, it’s not like _you_ are bound here!”

Marinette had really no idea how things turned out this way. All she knew was that it was all too much, she had had far too much, and she ended up here, in Adrien's room. She ended up here, in Adrien's arms. 

And she ended up telling him way too much. 

"It's- It's complicated," she said but she could see it in his face that this wasn't good enough. He was sick and tired of his father always keeping him in the dark about everything; she couldn't do the same to him. 

Marinette made a low hiss as she repositioned the pack of ice over her cheek. "I- I need something from him." 

"Ahh, so it _is_ about the money!" 

"It isn't about the money, Adrien! I would never do _this_ for money," Marinette grimaced. It hurt. She massaged the bridge of her nose with her other hand and sighed finally. "Can I trust you that you won't tell? If it gets out, I- Let's just say, I prefer to count sheep before I fall asleep, not the days I still have to live." 

At that Adrien froze. He gulped and nodded slowly in understanding. 

"Okay. Don't forget, I trust you, Adrien," Marinette said earnestly. She let out a big huff of air. "So... Gabriel has… he has an ancient relic in his possession. It's more valuable than you, or me, or this whole goddamn fortress altogether. But it isn't rightfully his. It was stolen from the Order of the Guardians and my task as their — you can call it thief, but I prefer — executor is to take it back to them."

Adrien looked at her for a long second before asking in an even voice. “Is it so important that you let him do _this_ to you just to get it?”

“I have to get it. Whatever it takes. I have no other option. When it comes to the butterfly relic, failure isn’t an option.”

Adrien’s eyes darkened and he started to pace up and down his room. Marinette tiredly leaned the intact part of her face into her palm.

“Okay,” Adrien said in a shaky voice, coming to a halt before her. Marinette looked up and saw him chew every word carefully before he spoke them. Next to the sheer terror, there was clear determination in his eyes. “I’ll help you.”

“What? How?” It wasn’t nice of her, but Marinette couldn’t help laughing at his offer. How could Adrien Agreste, who needed his father’s permission to leave the house for an afternoon stroll, help Marinette Dupain-Cheng, executor of the Order, in her quest?

“I’ll help you steal it and then you’ll take both the relic and me with yourself. We can go wherever you have to go, I don’t care! I don’t care if I lose the whole inheritance and the luxurious lifestyle either. Please, Nette, I just need to get away from here!”

He didn’t seem like he was joking and Marinette could very well understand where he was coming from. Starting to make home in the golden cage that was Gabriel Agreste’s love showed her just how suffocating that so-called care could be.

And Adrien’s idea wasn't half-bad, either. Maybe it was a product of her profession, but Marinette always solved everything by trusting her instinct. And her instinct told her to get away. Every single time. So running away after the mission was completed had always been part of the plan.

On the other hand, taking her client's son with herself raised certain security violations and she wasn't sure how the Order would like this scheme; but quite frankly, she was already at the end of her rope. She spent miserable months with Gabriel, trying to find the tiniest crack in his security where she could seep in, like water into the cracks of mountains, and destroy the system from the inside. 

However, her every effort was to no real avail until now. She knew things, but what was all that information good for when it didn’t get her any closer to reaching her goal? And, as she was told beforehand, the Order was nowhere to offer her aid. While she was in France they couldn’t; that’s why this mission was stretching on as long as it did in the first place. 

She had to take any help she could get, and if she was being honest, she wanted to take more, if it came from Adrien. 

“Okay, let’s assume that I accept your offer,” she said slowly, tasting every word carefully. “How do you propose we break into the safe and steal the relic? I have a good hunch what the code could be, but we still have to get through the other security measures, like the retina scanner.”

“Is it in the walk-in-safe in his office?” Adrien asked with a laugh to which Marinette only nodded confusedly. “That’s going to be child’s play! Literally. Did you know that safes are the best hiding spots in hide-and-seek? My mom gave me access so I could hide there when I used to play with the crew,” Adrien shrugged, before adding with a devilish smirk. “We never told Father.”

_X marks the spot, where we fell apart,_

_He poisoned the well, every man for himself._

Marinette could clearly remember the huge, red X in the calendar on the wall of her cheap flat on the outskirts of Paris when she locked her door for the last time this afternoon. It perfectly matched the shade of her night dress, that she altered exactly for this occasion to better accommodate running. 

Today was the day. 

She took an impatient look at her watch and drank up the remainder of her champagne — she made sure to get one of the alcohol-free ones — while she politely smiled and nodded from her spot next to Gabriel on the Fashion week’s opening ball. Even though she was properly trained to execute it effortlessly, Marinette couldn’t put it into words how much she hated small-talk and receptions. Fortunately, it was almost time. 

Her gaze met with Adrien’s, who stood at the other side of the room, his fingers fidgeting with his glass. He sent a small, nervous smile her way and lifted the Old Fashioned in his hand the slightest, as if he was toasting. 

“Gabriel, I don’t feel so good,” Marinette whispered, pulling the man slightly away from the circle of people he conversed with. 

“What is it? Are you feeling dizzy?” he asked with an expression that could even pass for concern.

“No, nothing like that!” Marinette ensured him swiftly with her hand on her belly. Adrien warned him how seriously his father would take dizzy spells. “My stomach is unwell, I think it’d be best if I laid down for a bit.”

“But the party’s just getting started. I have to make my speech in minutes and I need to accept the congratulations and answer the questions afterwards,” he said with a frown. 

“Is everything okay?” Adrien approached them.

“Nette is feeling unwell, but I can’t leave now,” Gabriel said, dissatisfied.

“I can call a taxi and take her home so she can rest, if needed,” Adrien offered. 

Gabriel pursed his lips into a thin line and considered his options before giving them a tiny nod. “Alright, but you have to hurry back so I can introduce you to some business partners after the speech.”

“Of course!” Adrien said obediently, handing his father the glass in his hand to free it.

“Thanks, Darling! See you soon!” Marinette said her goodbye for the sake of appearance before she let Adrien lead her away with his hand gently laying on her back. 

When she looked back over her shoulder, she found with a satisfied smirk the agitated frown that was sitting on Gabriel’s face before he swung down the glass of whiskey. 

_It was the great escape, the prison break,_

_The light of freedom on my face._

“Are you sure he didn’t overwrite your access?” Marinette asked while chewing in her lower lip, a nervous habit of hers. Her heart was throbbing in her throat as they waited in front of the safe for the scanner to process Adrien’s data and give them access. 

“Are you implying he remembers he has a son, not just owns a talking mannequin?” Adrien asked, cocking his eyebrow. “Cute.”

Despite the spreading pink on her cheeks, Marinette continued to argue for the sake of hiding her anxiety. “But your birthday was the password!” 

“Yes, because Mom had the system set up,” he rolled his eyes but the flashing of a little green light on the console and the sound of the locks’ release killed all nonchalance either of them pretended to have. “I guess he didn’t bother to change it,” Adrien stated with a Cheshire-grin, pulling open the safety-door. 

“I can’t believe it, you actually did it!” Marinette cheered and she was already inside. 

She couldn’t have missed the relic they came for even if she tried. The purple butterfly brooch stood on display in the middle of the little room, lightened up from every direction. Adrien carefully removed the glass cube that covered it and Marinette snatched up the jewel at the speed of light. 

It was finally, finally in her hands! 

She made a small, victorious chuckle and hid the brooch securely in her purse. “Now let’s get out of here!” she said cheerfully and grabbed Adrien by the hand, pulling him out of the safe where stacks of cash, million dollars worth of design plans and various jewels lay undisturbed. 

They had already got everything that they needed. 

_Drivin' the getaway car,_

_We were flyin', but we'd never get far._

Marinette maneuvered the Jaguar through the little streets of outer Paris, avoiding the highway at all cost, to get out of the city under the radar.

“We did it, we actually did it!” Adrien cheered, pumping his fist in the air victoriously as _High Hopes_ came on the radio.

“Why so surprised? Didn’t you think I would have a plan C if anything went wrong?” Marinette asked cockily but she laughed with him.

“I just can’t believe it’s over, that’s all,” Adrien sighed happily, untying his bowtie and throwing it in the back of the car. “I never really believed it could be.”

“Well, you better believe it; there’s no going back now, _chaton_ ,” she said playfully.

“ _Chaton_ , huh?” 

Marinette didn’t look away from the road so she couldn’t read his expression but he didn’t seem to mind the nickname. If he asked, though, she couldn’t tell how _‘chaton’_ came to her mouth. In the adrenaline rush of the robbery and being on the run it just felt natural. It felt right. Like being here with him.

“Well, Mister, you are a runaway on your way out of the country, I can’t keep calling you by your formal name,” she teased, coming to a halt at a red light.

“More than fair,” he hummed. “And what should I call you then, fellow runaway?”

“I’m sure you can figure something out,” Marinette winked at him before she continued in a more serious tone. “Nette is okay though. It isn’t my real name,” she shrugged, resuming their pace. 

“It-it isn’t?” Adrien took the news with audible disappointment. “So basically, I’m fleeing with a sport bag of belongings and a woman whose name I don’t know? That sounds quite responsible of me, if I can say so myself,” he laughed awkwardly. 

“Don’t stress it, you aren’t going to need any of those things where we are going,” Marinette joked. 

“Is this Order some kind of cult?” Adrien asked, this time with fear in his voice.

“Oh no, don’t worry, Adrien! I’m just messing with you,” she said with a kind smile, taking a side-glance at the boy. “And the people in the Order are good ones, soon you’ll see that for yourself. But about the name thing… It’s true that it wouldn’t be wise to keep your real one. But look at it positively, you can choose anything that you want!”

“Okay, that seems reasonable. I’ll think about it!”

They drove in silence for a few minutes when Adrien spoke again.

“So, you said we are going abroad?”

“Yes, to Switzerland, Bern to be exact. I have connections there, we can get fake IDs and board a plane to Tibet,” Marinette explained the plan. “But it’s seven hours away, more if we take sideroads and not the highway so I doubt we can make it tonight. The best that we can do is sleep at a little motel once we’re farther from Paris and finish the road tomorrow.”

“Sounds good, m’lady” Adrien yawned into the last words, but even if it came out half muffled, it did things to Marinette’s heart. 

_But you weren't thinking,_

_And I was just drinking._

Adrien dropped down their luggage on the little run-down armchair that stood in their room and flopped down onto the bed next to Marinette. 

“Can you believe it?” she sighed dramatically. “There was only one bed!” 

They broke out in matching giggles at the same time and Marinette had to press her palm to her side. Her diaphragm was surely out of training. 

“Not gonna lie, it’s nice to have such mundane problems,” Adrien said as he wiped the tears out of his eyes with the back of his hand. “Seriously, though, I can sleep on the couch, on the floor, in the tub, whatever you want.”

What Marinette truly wanted sadly wasn’t included on that list. 

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she said instead. “It’s your very first night without your own bed, you deserve to at least have one. I’m the master thief out of the two of us, I can sleep on the floor.”

“I thought you prefer ‘executor’,” Adrien teased. 

“Touché! And now that you mention it, tonight was a nicely executed scheme,” she said, tilting her face to the side to look him in the eyes. 

“Yes, it was! I can’t believe we actually did it!” Adrien sighed dreamily. He looked promptly exhausted but even that couldn’t kill the sparks in his eyes. “I can’t believe it’s actually over! I’m so happy I could kiss you!”

It was that spark all it took to set the world on fire. 

“Then what are you waiting for?” Marinette asked. 

There was a moment of deathly silence for which they kept on staring at each other, before they moved at the same time and closed the months and months of aching distance between the two of them. 

Marinette pressed her lips to his passionately, her fingers entangling in his hair, but Adrien was nothing if not eager to reciprocate. He pulled her closer, until Marinette couldn’t hear anything but the blood pumping in her ears and his frantically beating heart. It was the sweetest sound she could ever dream of.

Adrien was the drug that she had been without all her life and she didn’t know how she survived so far. Now, that she had him all to herself, she couldn’t stop drinking from his lips.

There were kisses on lips, kisses on neck, kisses on… Until Marinette couldn’t tell where her body ended and where his started.

“By the way,” she panted, when they separated for a second in their mundane need for air, “my name is Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Nice to meet you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng” Adrien smirked and he was back to kissing her again, and again, and again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated but please be kind!  
> Also, let me know if additional triggers should be tagged.


	2. The Very Happy Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is this a ‘yes’?”  
> “It’s a ‘you and me against the world’, Adrien.”  
> “I ‘you and me against the world’ you, too! ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: tooth-rotting fluff
> 
> Can be read as a stand-alone one-shot too. In that case, what you need to know is that Marinette (cover name: Nette) is a thief who just escaped with Adrien after robbing Gabriel. The couple, who just got together last night, is on their way to Marinette's guild in Tibet.

[ _ He said, "Let's get out of this town, _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sMDJbID8F4)

_ Drive out of the city, away from the crowds." _

Marinette shot up in bed, panting in the early morning sunshine that seeped through the folds of the curtain. A drop of sweat rolled down her forehead and she tried to get her erratic breathing under control, but for a terrifíing moment, it seemed impossible. 

She didn’t remember her dream, only felt the all-embracing fear that remained in its trail. 

“Mari, it’s okay, it was just a bad dream! I’m here!” She heard a soft voice and two hands pulled her closer. Marinette froze for a minute but as the images of yesterday came rushing back, she exhaled a sigh of relief and buried her head in the man’s chest while he kept drawing soothing circles on her back. 

_ Adrien _ . 

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” she choked when her heavy breathing subsided and she could look Adrien in the eye with a small smile on her face. “Good morning,  _ chaton _ .”

“Good morning, Mari.” He smiled back, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. “Do you remember what you dreamed about?”

Marinette shook her head and struck a stray lock out of Adrien’s face with her thumb. “We are here now, it doesn’t matter what I dreamed about.”

“Okay,” he beamed at her. “Then shall we get going?”

“Absolutely! The earlier we are out of this country, the better!” Marinette agreed. 

She pressed a chaste kiss to his lips before she disentangled herself from the sheets and grabbed some clothes to change into. 

“You know, Mari, I was thinking,” Adrien started, packing their bags. “You said that I need a new name for the forged passport. I guess I should figure it out soon, shouldn’t I?”

“Yes, if everything goes according to plan, we can get them today. Do you have something already in mind?” she asked with a mischievous smile. Designing secret alter egos and building a backstory around them had always been a part of her job that she enjoyed very much. 

“I may have an idea for my new last name,” Adrien smiled back at her sheepishly, a pink blush starting to bloom on his cheeks. “Would you mind, if I took yours?”

“Didn’t take you for such a smooth motherfucker, Mr. Dupain-Cheng,” Marinette teased, an uncontrollable smile spreading on her face.

“Is this a ‘yes’?” he perked up instantly, his eyes shining like freshly lit beacons. 

“It’s a ‘you and me against the world’, Adrien,” she said, then immediately yelped as he picked her up by her waist and spun her around. 

Gently putting her back on the floor, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I ‘you and me against the world’ you, too! ”

_ I thought heaven can't help me now, _

_ Nothing lasts forever but this is getting good now. _

Adrien and Marinette walked hand in hand by the Aare River in Bern’s Old Town, where charming little houses stood all along their way on the narrow streets and the river was so incredibly blue, like one out of a story-book.

“I can’t believe it only takes a half day to forge papers for a whole new identity,” Adrien marvelled at their visit at Marinette’s contact. 

“I’m not working with amateurs!” Marinette scrunched up her nose, resenting even the idea of such unprofessionalism. 

“You did work with me,” he wiggled his eyebrows. 

“You say that like I had much choice,” Marinette rolled her eyes playfully. 

“Ouch, you wound me, Mari! My life is meaningless without your shining presence in it!” He cried dramatically, leaning to the bridge’s massive brick railing they were crossing. “If I have to live without being chosen by you, I might as well jump off of this arched lintel bridge at this very moment!”

“Have they ever told you that you can be awfully dramatic?” Marinette laughed, pulling him back to the road to link her arm through his. “But just to erase your worries, I don’t believe in predetermination. You always have a choice, always. And I’ve chosen you,” she said earnestly, pressing a peck to the corner of his mouth. 

“And I’ve chosen you. And I’d do it over and over and over again,” Adrien smiled down at her.

Marinette never knew her heart could be so full of love as in that very moment. 

“Come on, now! We still have so much to cross out of my bucket list before our plane departs! We absolutely have to see the Clock Tower, and the rest of the Old Town! Did you know that it’s all part of the Unesco World Heritage? I’ve always dreamed of seeing the world and I don’t want to miss out on anything now, that I finally have the chance!”

_ He's so tall and handsome as hell, _

_ He's so bad but he does it so well. _

“Oh, such an unique brooch you have there!” The security guard remarked, just after the couple had their luggage checked at the security check-point in Bern’s airport.

“Oh, it’s just a trinket, there were dozens of it at this little boutique in the Old Town, but my wife fell in love with it for the first sight, so I instantly knew, I had to buy it for her as an anniversary gift,” Adrien beamed at the woman, pulling Marinette close to him by her shoulder. 

“That’s right, it was love for first sight, just like with you,” Marinette confirmed with a giggle, pressing a kiss to Adrien’s cheek. 

“Ah, it’s so lovely to see, true love isn’t dead yet,” the woman sighed dreamily, handing them back their passports. “Have a nice flight, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!”

_ I said, "No one has to know what we do." _

“Adrien, you can tell me, whatever it is!” Marinette said, fixing him with a concerned look over her latte.

He kept playing with the empty coffee cup between his fingers that they just got at the airport’s bistro. “But it’s silly,” he insisted.

“Hey, look. I’m not going to laugh, I swear!” 

She reached out to grab his hand over the table and squeeze it reassuringly. His fingers were dead cold. 

“Okay,” he gulped, “I trust you, Mari! The thing is that… I’m afraid of... flying.”

“You see, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” she smiled at him warmly. “And it isn’t even a big thing, a lot of people are afraid of flying!”

“But it’s embarrassing! I want to travel around the world and can’t even board a plane without freaking out!” he grumbled.

“You’ve already travelled by a hot air balloon and that was just fine. What’s the difference now?” she asked, cocking an imploring eyebrow. 

“The balloon was much smaller. I could have asked the pilot to let me drive it if I wanted,” Adrien started to explain, nibbling on his lower lip. “I could have asked them to change directions if I wanted. I could have...” He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Controlled it.” Marinette finished his sentence with a nod.

She tapped her chin and stayed silent — nevermind the amused chuckle she made when Adrien reached out over the table and snatched her remaining coffee from in front of her — while she thought about a viable solution to the problem. 

Slowly, a bright smile appeared on her face as an idea hit her. She whipped out her disposable phone to type in a few strings and announced cheerfully the results of her research. “I know just the solution we need. And don’t worry if it seems silly. No one has to know what we do!” she winked at him, handing him the phone.

Adrien looked at the screen and shook his head with an inaudible chuckle “Pretend that I’m a big, puffy cloud? Really, Mari?”

_ His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room. _

Marinette stood in the kitchen, carefully brewing a big pot of tea after they dropped their luggage down in her room. Adrien stood next to her, leaning on the kitchen counter while he kept fidgeting with a stray lock of her hair. 

“Do you think they are going to like me?” he asked warily, nibbling on his lower lip. 

“Is that even a question? They are going to love you!” she assured, casting a warm look at him. 

“But what if-”

“There are no ‘what ifs’, Adrien,” Marinette said categorically. She put down everything to turn to him and hold his cheeks in her palms. “Do you know how I know that my parents will love you?”

He looked her deep in the eye and swallowed through a lump in his throat before shaking his head slightly. 

“We always feel the same way about important things.” She smiled before standing on her tiptoes and leaning so close to Adrien that she could feel his hitching breath on her lips. “And I know that  _ I _ love you.” 

_ Say you'll remember me, _

_ Standing in a nice dress, _

_ Staring at the sunset, babe. _

“Do you know what they say about memories?” Marinette asked, extending her hand to her husband without taking her sight off of the pink and orange sunset in front of her, just over the mountains. 

Adrien stepped behind her and hugged her from behind by her waist. He pressed a light kiss to her neck as he asked, “What do they say about memories?”

“That they are incredibly fragile. Easily compromised. Unreliable.”

“That may be,” Adrien hummed. “Other memories may be. But not this one. I know for a fact that I’ll remember this moment until the end of my days, Mari. That’s one thing I’m absolutely sure about.”

“So certain, aren’t we, Mr. Dupain-Cheng?” Marinette spun around with a cocky smile.The lace of her white sleeves slipped back to her elbows as she crossed her hands behind his neck. 

“When it comes to you, I’m always certain, Mari.”

She sighed and stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his lips. “I really don’t want to complain, but what happened with your cute nicknames? You didn’t use any of them since...” She trailed off, frowning her eyebrows as she tried to remember the last time he used one of his nicknames for her. 

“I didn’t use any of them since I got to know that Nette isn’t your real name,” he said, leaning his forehead against hers. “If I call you Mari, that only belongs to me. To me and no one else.” 

Marinette felt like she could melt in the warmth of his eyes. It felt like sitting next to a fireplace. Like sipping a cup of hot chocolate on a chilly winter day. Like coming home. 

“So, tell me, Mari! How could I call you anything but  _ mine _ ?”

_ I bet these memories, _

_ Follow you around. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you booked a ticket only for the fluffy ride, congratulations, this is your terminal, aka the tagged happy ending!  
> However, if you want the full package and are here for more, buckle up, we’re going for a ride!
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated!


	3. The Very Sad Middle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More often than not, things don’t work out the way you hope in your wildest dreams. One of many reasons for that being that you aren’t really the person you are in your wildest dreams now, are you?
> 
> CW: -

[ _I knew it from the first Old Fashioned, we were cursed,_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPLQVlUiNQ)

_We never had a shotgun shot in the dark_ _._

When Marinette woke, something was wrong. The sun wasn’t shining in her eyes. 

She yawned and quickly rubbed her dream that still made her smile like an idiot out of her eyes. She loved how detailed her dreams could get but was always left with a bitter taste in her mouth after waking up from a good one, for she felt as if she was robbed of a beautiful reality. However, today, waking up to being cuddled up next to Adrien, she couldn't bring herself to mind. 

Marinette carefully disentangled herself of the motel’s cheap sheets and her lover’s arms before she sat up. Her eyes idly fell on the man sleeping next to her and she watched him breathe peacefully for a second. She pressed a gentle kiss to his crown before she crawled out of bed. 

She gathered a T-shirt and a pair of jeans to change into instead of the red nightdress she wore last night, which now lay on the floor, discarded. However, while rummaging through her bag, her hand bumped into her purse. She opened it to take another look at the butterfly relic but the first thing that her sight fell on wasn’t that. It was her phone. Her phone, that shouldn’t have been there. 

Marinette cursed under her breath for, flushed with victory, she had forgotten to throw it away last night. But right now this wasn’t her biggest problem, as a single glance at the screen confirmed two things. 

For one, it was noon. She had dangerously overslept. 

Second, she has had an unread message. 

_We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde,_

_Until I switched to the other side, to the other side._

Marinette’s heart throbbed in her throat furiously as she drove the Jaguar into a little parking lot, two hours away from Paris. There was only one other vehicle waiting there, in the middle of nowhere, for her and her only. 

Marinette stopped and got out of the car, intertwining her arms on her chest to stop them from shaking. 

At the sight of her Gabriel Agreste pushed himself away from the black car he arrived in and walked closer, meeting her halfway, so the beefy man at the wheel couldn’t hear them. 

“I imagine you didn’t expect to see me this soon, _Darling_ ,” he said, his baggy eyes glaring daggers through Marinette.

“Don’t ever call me that again,” she hissed, holding her chin up to look him in the eyes. 

“I could call you by your name, but I assume I don’t know it,” Gabriel scorned. “But that’s alright, I wouldn’t want such a filthy thing to leave my mouth. The after effect of your little parting gift last night was enough as it was. Though, if the whiskey was intended to kill me, I’m afraid I have to disappoint.”

“Are we really here to throw insults and cast old bruises up against each other like regular exes do, Gabriel? I thought you weren’t so cliché!” Marinette said mockingly but shook her head instantly and continued in a more professional manner. “I’m only here because I believe you have something that belongs to me.”

“That is as far as it gets from correct but I’ll let it slide just this time. But, yes, I have something that you so desperately want,” he said, reaching for his pocket and pulling out a little box covered in velvet. “Did you take me for an idiot to leave the real thing on display? It’s a shame you couldn’t get to know me better during all this time, _Darling_.”

Marinette spared him a piercing stare but her attention was on the box, whose lid Gabriel just opened, showing her the exact copy of the butterfly relic made out of coloured glass that lay in the bottom of her bag now. 

“How do I know if this one is real?” she asked, raising her eyebrow skeptically. 

“You don’t,” Gabriel shrugged then added with a malevolent smirk. “You’ll just have to trust me on this one, _Darling_.”

Marinette let out a big breath to collect herself and not to strangle the man on the spot with her bare hands. She knew he wasn’t stupid enough to come unprepared — as his bodyguard in the car showed too.

“If you say that isn’t good enough for you...” Gabriel trailed off, opening his arms pitifully. “I don't have a better offer for a thief and a traitor.”

Marinette clenched her teeth but sighed. She wouldn’t have come all this way if she hadn’t already made her choice. Whatever she finally had to offer. “Okay, what do you want?”

“You know what I want,” he answered coldly.

“But why? It doesn’t make any sense!” she cried, throwing her hands in the air helplessly. 

“It doesn’t make any sense for a father to love his son? You’re even crazier than I thought,” he laughed.

“It doesn’t make sense that _you_ claim to love _him_ ,” she spit back before laughing bitterly, “or if you really do, you’re just terrible at showing it.”

“ _You_ don’t get to tell me how affection should be displayed!” Gabriel growled, taking a step closer while pointing an accusatory finger at her. 

“Well, you could have started by not locking him up. That would have been halfway decent!”

“He’s the last thing I have of my wife, what else was I supposed to do to protect him?!” Gabriel howled. 

He was already standing in Marinette’s face but she wouldn’t crumble under the intimidating stare. “Love isn’t always about prot-”

“Silence!” he yelled at her, grabbing her wrist and shaking it. “You don’t get to lecture me on my parenting methods, I don’t want to hear any of that! I don’t want to hear anything from you but a straightly professional answer to my business offer!”

“Let go of me!” Marinette hissed, tearing her hand out of his grip. She took a step back and stared up at Gabriel with a fiery gaze. “Will you give me the butterfly relic after that?”

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” he spit back.

Marinette’s blood was boiling at her helplessness, at even the thought of making a deal with Gabriel Agreste. But in the end, she had made her choice long ago, hadn’t she?

She had a mission that she had to carry out successfully.

That was what she had, not the luxury of mulling over matters of the heart. 

“Okay. Follow me.”

_Don't pretend it's such a mystery,_

_Think about the place where you first met me._

Marinette took a deep breath and forcefully released the tension in her limbs. She looked back over her shoulder and her eyes met Gabriel’s cold expression from over the pulled down window of his car. It was as if he said, _“what are you waiting for?”_

Marinette was waiting for a miracle but it didn’t come. 

She took one more breath before she pushed down the doorknob and stepped into their tiny room for the night. 

“Mari?” She heard Adrien’s voice from the bathroom. A voice that made her wish she wouldn’t remember her dream as crystal clearly as she did. 

His wet crown appeared in the door. Marinette’s heart ached at his overjoyed expression. “I’m so glad you’re back, I had no idea where you could have gone!”

“I had to take care of a few things,” she said slowly, nibbling on her lower lip. 

“Oh, okay, whatever needs to be done for a safe travel,” he said cheerily, walking up to her. He took her hand without a care in the world and kissed the inside of her wrist. “You know, Mari, I was thinking.”

Marinette swallowed through the lump in her throat to be able to stutter out, “Y-yes?”

“You mentioned that I should choose a new name,” he continued sheepishly. 

“Adrien, I—” She tried to get it out but her brain short-circuited as dreams and reality crashed and sent tide waves over her head that threatened to crush her. She couldn’t say it. Not when he was looking at her like that. Like she hung the moon and the stars on the sky, one by one. Like she was his saviour whom he trusted unconditionally. 

So she didn’t say it.

“Would you mind...” He trailed off as a pink blush appeared on his cheeks. “Would you mind if I took yours?”

“My… name?” Marinette could barely breathe, her chest felt so tight by the enormous weight of his hopes and her dreams. 

“Your last name,” Adrien beamed. 

“Adrien I-I- We-” She shook her head manically, tears starting to form in her eyes. She forced them back, biting her cheek and only said, “We have to go! Now!”

“Now? But I wanted to dry my hai-”

“We have to go!” Marinette cried, silencing the boy. She grabbed him by his wrist and started to tug him towards the exit. “Please, Adrien!”

She didn’t say _‘_ Trust me!’. 

She couldn’t. 

But Adrien still did. 

He let her lead him out to the sunlight. 

However, he came to a halt the moment his sight fell on Gabriel and his bodyguard, who were standing next to the open car door.

“Mari, what is he doing here?” he hissed with panic in his eyes. 

“He’s here because I- because I failed,” Marinette choked out. 

“What do you mean you failed? We have the relic, we got away, how could we have failed?!” He shook his head uselessly. 

“We don’t have the relic. It was a fake,” she admitted despondently before whispering, “Adrien, please don’t make this harder than it has to be!”

But Adrien didn’t move, he just kept on alternating his stare between her and Gabriel.

“Adrien, get in the car!” The man’s cold voice could be heard. 

“I- I don’t understand.”

“She’s trading you for the relic, what’s so hard to comprehend on that?”

“No, no, she would never do that!” Adrien cried, his pained eyes flashing to Marinette. At the sight of tear streaks running down her cheeks, he tore his wrist out of her touch, as if it burnt him. “You can’t!”

“Don’t you remember, Adrien?” Marinette asked in a low voice, unable to fight the hot tears spilling from her eyes anymore. “I told you! I told you that it was more important than either you or me!”

“But—” Adrien’s lower lip quivered as he tried to form the question. “But is it more important than _us_?”

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Marinette shook her head and turned away to avoid Adrien’s anguished expression as the bodyguard led him to the car and locked the door.

“As per our agreement, I hope to never see you again, or I'll have to alert the authorities. Pleasure doing business with you, _Marinette_ ,” Gabriel sneered at her as he threw the velvet box to the dirt at her feet.

He got in the car as that slowly rolled out of the parking lot. Slowly enough for Marinette to take a last, good look at Adrien’s shattered expression. 

He didn’t meet her eyes.

As even the sound of tires faded away, Marinette’s legs finally gave in and crumbled under her. She buried her face into her palms helplessly, giving way to her unconsolable weeping. 

Next to her, the dust started to pile on the tiny box that was worth more than her life. 

_I was ridin' in a getaway car,_

_I was cryin' in a getaway car,_

_Said "goodbye" in a getaway car._

_No, nothing good starts in a getaway car._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst? Angst!  
>  ~~Don't blame me, blame Taylor's lyrics!~~  
>  As always, comments are appreciated!


	4. Endings Are The Saddest Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: mentioned character death, swearing, drinking, 
> 
> Once again, thank you so much to [Khanofallorcs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs/pseuds/Khanofallorcs) for beta reading!

[ _ And you asked me to dance, _ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPlNBb6I8qU%20)

_ But I said, "dancing is a dangerous game." _

When Marinette next saw Adrien, he was wearing all black. 

He didn’t see her, though. He was too busy fixing his teary eyes on the coffin of Gabriel Agreste.

It was a big funeral; it wasn’t hard for Marinette to hide behind the tasteful layer of veil of her hat. She designed it herself and she had to say, she was pretty proud of it. Ever since her roaring success with securing the butterfly relic for the Order two years ago, she was so highly respected that she could finally do what she wanted. Whatever she wanted.

So she designed. She spent precious time with her family. She played as much Ultimate Mecha Strike as she pleased. She daydreamed about the man she had left behind in Paris. And she took missions once in a while. When they were interesting enough.

This lifestyle was what brought her here to the cemetery today. She wanted to be here. She wanted to see as the graveyard’s servants lowered Gabriel Agreste’s coffin into the ground. 

She stood close enough to the hole to hear as the first clumps of soil made a funny thumping sound on the coffin’s top.

It made Marinette smile. 

_ I've got some tricks up my sleeve, _

_ Takes one to know one. _

This time around it was much easier to get into the Agreste mansion. 

After all the hustle she had to go through to get in there for the first time, walking right through the open gate and up on the marble stairs until she stood at the monumental door just felt ridiculous. 

Marinette took a deep breath and, with an anticipatory smile on her face, she knocked three times with the door-knocker. She stood there for a while before she heard the sound of soft footsteps from the other side of the door and it slowly opened, only a crack. A thin beam of lamplight painted the dark terrace and illuminated Marinette’s face.

“Hello, Adrien,” she said just as confidently as she did the first time they met. “Can I come in?”

The man opened the door a little wider, just so he could look her over with a piercing stare. The knuckles of his fists were white from the way they were clenched.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’ve heard what happened with your father and I wanted to express my condolences.”

“Wouldn’t the funeral earlier today have been a better place to do that?” he asked dismissively.

“I couldn’t make it there, but I wanted to talk with you. Can I come in?” Marinette repeated kindly, taking a step closer to the door.

“I have nothing to say to you!” Adrien said, taking a step backwards in an attempt to close the door.

“Adrien please!” Marinette reached out and grabbed the doorframe before he shut it tight. “I’m going to be the one doing the talking, you just have to listen! Please!”

“You know, I don’t particularly care, whatever you have to say. You were just fine not even looking in my direction for two years, I can’t imagine what could make you change your mind.”

“Adrien,” she practically pleaded. “I know you’re mad at me and you have every right to be, but please, just hear me out! I have to apologize!”

Adrien’s jaws flexed and unflexed as he was still staring at her intently but he didn’t say anything.

“Can I  _ please  _ come in?” Marinette repeated patiently. 

Adrien seemed to quiver under her supplicatory stare and ever so slowly, his hand fell down next to his side. He took a tiny step out of the way.

“Thank you!” Marinette said warmly as she stepped over the doorsill.

She closed the door behind herself. 

_ Oh, I thought, _

_ This is gonna be one of those things. _

“So, what did you have to say?” Adrien asked coldly, standing against the back of a chair next to the dinner table, where Marinette sat.

“I wanted to apologize to you.” She started, fidgeting with the empty water glass between her fingers. Just the way Adrien did with the coffee cup at the airport when he admitted to being afraid of flying. Just the way Adrien  _ would have _ fidgeted with it at the airport, if they had ever gotten there. “I know very well, that it doesn’t make up for the years you had to spend here, nor does it right the way I betrayed you, but you have to know that I never wanted it to be this way.” 

She looked up at the man but he stayed silent, listening to her with pursed lips, so she continued. “That mission was my whole life. Failure simply wasn’t an option. And I’ve always thought that I would gladly sacrifice anything for that goal but I was wrong. It-It was the worst thing I have ever done. And I don’t expect you to understand but back then—" she took a shaky breath before lying in a trembling voice, "—I didn’t feel like I had a choice." 

"So you took away mine too!" he roared, his accusatory eyes burning a hole into Marinette's skin. "I wanted to choose you, Marinette! You and freedom! I so desperately wanted to choose it and-"

_ And I'd do it over and over and over again _ , his never-was words filled Marinette's ears. How could they not when this was the sound she woke and went to sleep with?

“I’ve always wanted to come back for you-! But Gabriel- He threatened me and I- I just couldn’t!" she cried despondently when his mouth stopped moving. "I’m so sorry I didn’t come back sooner!"

"You know that a 'sorry' doesn't make right any of that, don’t you?" Adrien hissed.

"I know, I really do,” she said in a low voice, looking Adrien in the eyes. “But when I try to find better words to describe the remorse and shame I feel about letting him take you back here, to this miserable place... ‘I’m sorry’ is the best I have.”

Adrien looked at her for an incredibly long moment before with a sigh he pulled out the chair and sat down on it. He propped his elbows on the tabletop and buried his face into his palms. 

When he spoke again, his voice was much softer. “He- He wasn’t all bad, you know. After we came back, he really tried. He let me have a job at the company and I could go out every day for work. And once we have even been to Milan too!”

"I-I never believed he could change. That he already had,” Marinette admitted, chewing anxiously on her lower lip. 

"Yeah. Incredibly slowly, but things were getting better. Sometimes it almost felt like we were a real family. It's funny how life has a way of taking away what's most important for you just the second it's finally within reach, isn’t it?" he laughed mirthlessly, throwing back his head.

"Yeah," Marinette agreed, her eyes cast down on her fingers that kept picking at the skin around her nails. "It's such a shame."

_ It could be love, _

_ We could be the way forward, _

_ And I know I'll pay for it. _

“—and he was like, ‘you absolutely won’t bring a mangy cat off the street into  _ my  _ house!’ So he turned her away but next month, on my birthday, he took me to this animal fair, and that’s how he spent the price of a small house on Plagg and his pedigree,” Adrien chuckled, refilling his teacup from the almost empty kettle on the dinner table. 

“I can’t believe he would do that!” Marinette laughed with tears in her eyes. 

“He wouldn’t stop growling about it later, but he did it,” Adrien smiled, staring into his tea. “Sometimes he still went back to the way he was before so he would… He was far from perfect, but he tried. He even visited a therapist.”

“I-I didn’t know that,” Marinette whispered, her hand before her mouth. “I would have never thought...”

“Don’t take it like he was the father of the year, or that he was ever going to be, but he was…  _ halfway decent _ ,” Adrien shrugged.

“Adrien I-” 

Adrien finally lifted his head to look at her and Marinette stared back at him through the curtain of her tears. 

She was stupid, so stupid for coming here, for speaking to him. For not being able to smile and nod silently. But she was an even bigger idiot for coming here _ only now _ , for speaking to him  _ only now _ . For not even bothering to dig deeper before she came to an unsurprising conclusion. 

But first and foremost, she was a madwoman for setting foot in the country two weeks ago in the first place. 

“Adrien, the food poisoning-”

“What of it?” Adrien asked in surprise, right before bafflement took over his features. “How do you know-? It was never in the news. I asked them not to include it...”

“Adrien… It wasn’t food poisoning,” she choked out. 

“What do you mean it wasn’t…?” he asked, frowning.

“It was me!” Marinette sobbed, her hand covering her mouth.

Adrien’s mouth on the other hand formed a cute little ‘o’ as he looked at her, his eyes as big as saucers. “You?”

“I-I poisoned Gabriel. I killed him!”

“No, no, you wouldn’t...” Adrien shook his head in disbelief.

“I killed him because I couldn’t come back until he was here! It was all part of the deal, he would have reported me to the police if I ever came back,” she cried, burying her head in her palms. 

There was a moment of deafening silence before Adrien’s shaky voice reached her ear. “But… Why would you want to come back?”

Marinette slowly lifted her head to look him in the eyes. 

“For you,” she whispered. 

They sat there in silence, listening to their frantically beating hearts until a glistering tear appeared in Adrien’s eye and rolled down his ashen face. 

“You killed my dad,” he croaked out, “my only family,” the intensity of his voice was ever elevating, “for me?!”

“I thought he was still treating you poorly!” Marinette tried to explain. “That was how he always had been so I thought-”

“But he changed!” Adrien yelled, pushing himself away from the table in a single movement. He pointed an accusatory finger at Marinette in his standing position, his face flushed red. “You were supposed to stay out of my life! You’d already made your decision about that and you had no right to come back and take away everything! Everything!!”

“I-I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry, Adrien!” she whispered, tears in her eyes.

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry?! Am I a fucking joke to you?! You think apologizing after you killed my fucking father will solve anything?! You think I even want your apology? Do you think after all of this your word means absolutely anything? Screw your apology, Marinette!” Adrien shouted.

He wiped off his streaming tears with the back of his fist and without looking back he stormed out of the room. He slammed the door loudly behind himself. 

Marinette probably should have walked out the door right that moment. There was no use to sit there and let guilt consume her. Still, she didn’t move, just buried her face in the palms of her hand.

_ You had some tricks up your sleeve, _

_ Takes one to know one. _

When — much, much later — Adrien returned to the dining room, Marinette was still there. She sat at the end of the table, hugging her pulled up knees to herself. 

She wasn’t crying anymore, but dried out tears didn’t equal peace of mind. 

Adrien walked up to her with a sour look and slammed two whiskey glasses on the table. He didn’t say a word as he poured from the bottle in his hand. With a forceful push, he slid one glass to Marinette who looked back at him with a questioning glance. 

“I don’t care what you drink for, just drink!” he grunted. 

“I don’t-”

“Drink!” he hollered before adding with a dry laugh. “Don’t worry, I don’t have the skill to make a killer Old Fashioned. That was your favourite weapon, wasn’t it?”

Marinette swallowed through the lump in her throat and with a shaky hand, she brought the drink to her mouth. Her gaze intertwined with Adrien’s fiery one as both of them drank up the whiskey at the same time. 

“That wasn’t so bad now, was it?” he asked mockingly.

“What do you want from me?” she asked timidly, ignoring his question.

“I told you already.  _ I _ want absolutely nothing with you.”

The tense silence stretched on even longer, but Marinette dared not to speak again while Adrien was staring at her like that.

Her heart was beating in her throat as it was but her pulse took an even faster pace when suddenly blue and red lights coloured the walls of the dining room through the windows to the front yard.

Adrien finally broke the eye contact, looking down at his watch and making a rueful titter. “Ten minutes. Public security just isn’t how it used to be,” he scoffed. 

“You called the cops on me?” Her voice was raspy but isn’t exactly surprised. 

“Could you blame me if I did?  _ I heard voices from upstairs. It might be my father’s ex-lover. I heard that she was dangerous, not the sweet girl we thought her to be _ ,” he said slowly, turning the glass over in his hand carefully.

“But that was what you always loved about me, wasn’t it?” she asked back with a sweet smile. 

Adrien shook his head dejectedly. “I fell in love with your determination and your kindness. You always cared so much... or at least I thought so. But in the end, it looks like I was wrong. I must have fallen for the idea of you.”

Marinette’s shoulders slouched as she thought about his words. It was funny how well they matched, even now. They both fell for dreams and ideas that were never within reach. If only she had noticed sooner. If only she could have been the person Adrien thought her to be. But there wasn’t much she could do now. 

Fortunately, though, even if her options weren’t versatile, there was always a choice. And Marinette wanted to choose what she was best at. 

Act on her instincts. 

And right now her instincts screamed  _ survival! _

Marinette stared at the distance for an incredibly long moment before speaking.

_ Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear. _

_ Like it could be love, _

_ I could be the way forward. _

“Do you know, Adrien,  _ why  _ I wanted to come back for you?”

“Does it even matter?”

“I think you’d care,” she assured him with a mischievous smile. “I thought it was finally time you met your daughter. But in the end, it looks like I was wrong.”

“My… My daughter?” he choked, befuddlement evident on his face. 

Marinette flashed him a toothy grin and she leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. “Her name is Emma. Emma Dupain-Cheng. For some reason, I was convinced that you’d like to see her. I’m afraid though that you need me out of prison to do that now, don’t you,  _ chaton _ ?”

_ Now you hang from my lips, _

_ Like the Gardens of Babylon. _

In the shadow of the front door Marinette leaned with her back against the wall and watched Adrien in amusement.

“No, Officer Raincomprix, I’m absolutely sure! There isn’t and was never a thief in the house. I have checked since then and it was just the cat, he knocked off a vase in the guest room. I apologize for the inconvenience I caused, it must be the stress. Yes, I just buried my father today.”

_ And the skeletons in both our closets, _

_ Plotted hard to fuck this up. _

“I can’t believe I have a daughter and you never told me!” 

“You say that like we have been talking every day and I just forgot to mention,” Marinette teased as she refilled the whiskey glasses on the kitchen counter. “Ice?”

The man pointed at the general direction of the freezer absentmindedly, before he resumed his frantic pacing. “A daughter! Emma! And you just- agh!”

“Well, excuse me for not starting with this first thing when I came back,” she huffed, opening the freezer and pulling out the bottommost drawer to push aside an unopened pack and take out a few ice cubes from the ice cube tray in the very back, before dropping them in Adrien’s glass.

“Yeah, you started by murdering said child’s grandfather instead! That’s a much nicer way to kick off a conversation!” Adrien fumed but he accepted the glass offered to him and swung down the drink in one gulp. He immediately refilled and chugged that down too. Then he stayed quiet for a moment as he leaned against the counter.

He sighed loudly when he straightened and reached for the bottle again. “And I hope you’re aware that you’re only off the hook so we can go to Tibet and I can bring Emma back here! A cult full of thieves and assassins is clearly no place for a child; and before you get any ideas, there is  _ not  _ going to be any kind of big, happy family shenanigans either! I’m taking Emma and you’re free to live your life however you want so long as neither of us hears anything about you ever again, understood?!”

He drank up his third glass and Marinette only watched with a smile from behind her untouched drink how he lurched. Adrien tried to clear his throat and he reached for the edge of the counter but soon he was sitting on the black and white tiles, looking up at Marinette with pupils the size of a golf ball.

“Oh, Adrien!” Marinette cooed as she sat down next to him and took his shaking hand in hers. “Did you seriously believe that on the off chance that we really had a child — and it wasn’t just a plan made up in the spur of the moment to get you to cooperate — I’d let you take her away from me just like that? Did you really think that knowing my name, my occupation, I’d just let you walk away?”

_ I've had some tricks up my sleeve, _

_ Takes one to know one. _

Fortunately, though, even if her options weren’t versatile, there was always a choice. And Marinette wanted to choose what she was best at. 

Act on her instincts. 

And right now her instincts screamed  _ survival! _

Marinette stared at the distance for an incredibly long moment before speaking, but the vision she was seeing wasn’t one she liked very much. 

“Yes, I guess you did fall for an idea of me.”

For a long time, Marinette wouldn’t really know why she didn’t end up choosing the option that she wanted to. The one that felt so natural to pick. The one that she was so used to choosing that it was practically second nature to her. Running.

Maybe she was just weak — as they called it in thief circles — and couldn’t live with the remorse any longer than the past two years. 

Maybe only doing what you wanted lost its appeal after a while. 

Maybe, even if she would never admit it, she just wanted to be that better person that Adrien thought she had always been. For his, but most importantly for her own sake.

Or maybe she was just tired of her old, all-purpose problem-solving tactic. 

Maybe it was time to stop running. 

Most likely, though, it was a little of all of the above that made her decide against pulling the whole “I can give you a family” trick on Adrien. That made her stand up with a straight back when the bell rang and that made her walk to the door with steady steps.

That made her tell the truth while Officer Raincomprix secured the cuffs behind her back. 

“Do you know, Adrien,  _ why  _ I wanted to come back for you?”

Adrien never answered, just kept staring into her bluebell eyes. 

“I came back because I always thought that it’d end with you and me against the word.”

_ Now I know, _

_ I'm never gonna love again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story, even if -- or especially because -- it was a little unusual.  
> If you have any questions or just would like to generally scream ~~at~~ with me, comments are always appreciated!


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